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I am relatively new to the sport, and was turned on to Automags by members of Southwest Voodoo and now shoot an x-mag. For the past 2 years I have been hearing stories from the likes of Crash from Bad Karma, and Preacher from Evil inc about you and AGD, and have to say that I am sorry to see you go.

Like Bunkerhugger and Caffiend, I am planning on attending this years Shatnerball. I hope that you will be there so that I may have the chance to meet one of the builders of a sport I have come to enjoy so much.

I wish you the best in your future, and hope that AGD will remain the foundation of paintball that it has been in the past.

sad day for myself, my teammates, and paintball

wow, this makes me sick to my stomach. I dont even know what to say. As most others have said, it is Tom that brought them into or kept them in paintball. I started playing in 1989, and bought a mag in 1991. Shortly after I played along side Tom at a tournament scrimmage at Fox River Games again Swarm. during one of the games he told a teammate of mine to "hit his gun into a tree" because it was freezing up on him. That was during the game! it is one of the funniest/best/earliest memories of Tom. I have been loyal to AGD for what seems like all my life. They are the ONLY company i completely trust, not only for paintball, but anything! It is truely rare to have a quality, classy company like AGD to purchase products from. Tom has also single handedly changed many aspects of paintball and the game forever. He was and is an innovator and a class act. Tom, i wish you the best for you and your family. I have felt like I was part of it all these years and I thank you! Things just won't be the same without you. You are truly a great person that has touched many lives. Long live AGD and Tom's legacy.

Times are changing and the industry will surely suffer without Tom. I have known tom for many moon's and played along side him in several big games (he is the guy that taught me everything about the automag). I would like to thank you Tom and AGD for all the support in the past. Also, JoAnn will be missed, I have been working with her since she started with AGD. Good luck to both of you.

Tom, even though I have never had the chance to meet you I will miss your presence in the Paintball World. I'm sorry to see that you are leaving but I respect your choice and wish you the best in where ever life takes you.

I joined up with AGD in '93 after taking their tech class for my old team, The Houston Heat. I must have impressed them enough to get to go to all the tournaments as a tech. 11 years later, I'm still going and call everyone at the factory my friends. Because of Tom and AGD, I'm met folks from all over the world, been to tons of cool places and done some amazing things. His inovations have brought the sport up to a point that it never would have been at without them. He is truely one of the good guys in the sport.

With the poor sales industry wide, I see more of this happening every day. Sad to say honestly.

Tom, good luck in everything you do. Enjoy life. Party like it's 1979 (where disco still rules). Find lots of bones. Fix your goose chaser ('cause I wanna see it). Have fun.

Well tom think i might have met you once in my life but i guess i should of knew this was coming. AGD/AO has gotten me into paintball. I met so many people from this company and forum. It was fun and it will still be! Your still the President of agd in our hearts and hope to see ya at a big event throughout the years! goodluck to you tom!

Modulate me
Its oh so typical
Excite me

Don't focus on the obvious so much that you miss out on the little things...cuz those little things do matter. Wanna run fast? Hey, more power to you...but don't forget to be quick. Wanna shoot fast? Hey, great...but don't forget to be accurate. Wanna react fast? Super...then don't argue with yourself. In the meantime, have fun, play Paintball, and rock on!

Well, i never saw this comining either. I am honored to have met, and played paintball next to you at Shatnerball. you have changed the way i play paintball(no more need for a barrel swab). And answering the question " a mech can shoot that fast?" You will be very missed. Almost our entire team uses Automags. and i personally own 5(including an X Mag). Good luck in whatever you are going to do. I hope you will still come to some of the events. Even though you won't be working for AGD, you are still the guy who made it what it is today, and we will ALWAYS remember that!.

I had the honor of making your acquaintance at the IAOand had the privilege of seeing you dance to "YMCA". I even had the joy of winning the last of the Tac One markers you so generously provided for the prize package. My greatest memory, however, includes my son...

Word had filtered through Karen that you were out of Diet Pepsi. My son said, "I'll take care of it!" and jumped into the car. Electricity was out at the time and he had to travel through multiple communities before he was able to find an open store. Returning, he took his own ice chest, now filled with ice and drinks, and sent it your way... anonymously. You didn't know who he was when you so kindly offered your time during an evening workshop so he didn't feel it was necessary that you know who provided your Pepsi. IT WAS THE ACT, NOT THE ACKNOWLEDGEMENT that was important to my son.

Your involvement in our industry has been much the same. I would suggest that much of the respect that has been accorded you is due to your determination towards positive action without the constraint of the ego's need for self-proclaimed acknowlegment. You have been the proud and stalwart knight who now finds himself entering a new age - one influenced by dollars rather than integrity and where deceipt rules over truth. You cannot be faulted for desiring to exit while your character and reputation remain unblemished and intact. But you will be missed.

Good luck in your future endeavors, Mr. Tom Kaye. Remain true to yourself and you will find happiness.

Thanks for playing your last game at TFT!

We were glad to have you at Regulators Outpost in Dalton Ga.
I enjoyed playing against you and securing a win for my side against one of the greatest names in paintball.
Best wishes to you in your new endevors.
I hope to see you again in the middle.

I remember getting so pumped for the first AO party. I drove into work for the highspeed connection, brought a bag of microwave popcorn, and a 2 liter of Mt. Dew. And then it got canceled because of technical difficulties.

I remember how much I loved to read the technical posts about paintball physics and debunking myths.

I used to tell everyone about AO. About the President of this awesome paintball company who was into archaeology, astronomy, etc. who would actually get on the forums and discuss new products and performance.

As a dealer of AGD product and host of 2004's AO Norcal Socal Meet, myself and everyone at Breakout Paintball Central Cali wishes Tom the best of luck on his new ventures. I will always hold a special place in my heart for Mag's and the sheer muscle design of them. Being a dealer and seeing the fall of Automag's over time has sadened me and i hoped never for this day.

A Titan walks away . . .

Tom:

First time I've been back to AO in several months, and I see this. I feel as if I am watching a Titan stride out of view, taking the last vestiges of magic from our world.

Tom, you should know that there are many, many people who do not belong to AO or post, but who know who you are, what you look like, what you did for us as players and the sport as a whole, and who admire your character as well as your accomplishments. The flurry of agg cheater kidz may obscure the camo-clad host of us who remember, but we will be here, teaching others the sport and the sportsmanship that you forged.

Your titanic contributions may seem small to you, but to us mortals they are monumental. I submit that your contributions appear small to you because of your stature, not because of their worth.

Everything changes, including paintball. We must all accept that the time of legends in our sport is passing. Tom, please know that we will not forget, and that you have been a primary engine behind the creation of a rec and scenario ball community that will continue to flourish.

I cannot predict much else of what is to come, but I can make thse predictions:

I, my friends and many others will make Shatnerball a record event this year.
We will all stand in line to shake your hand and thank you for all you have done.
We will feel honored to do so.

May you find all the happiness and fulfillment that you have so justly earned.

Fritz1970,
(on my own behalf and at the direction of many East Coast old guard paintballers)

I wanted to let all of you know that I will also be leaving Airgun Designs; my last day will be Friday, December 17. I began working for Tom in March 1991 so it's going to be strange not to come to work at Airgun anymore. But the time has come to move on ....

I want to thank all of you for your support of Tom and Airgun Designs. You're a great group of people. I hope that you will continue your support because the group of people who will continue to work here (Dave, Marcia, Jon, and Roman) are hard-working, talented people who care very much about the company, the products, and company service. It doesn't get any better than that!

Take care,

JoAnn

Sorry to see you leaving also, Deb and I'll miss talking to you on the phone.

Maybe, maybe not. You have to understand how hard it is to come back as an unknown. You all know me but in a couple months I will be invisible to 99% of the paintball world. Thats just the way it is.
AGD

About 2 years I started playing paintball. My first marker was stock tippmann. I played on and off with it for about 1 year, then my birthday came and I had a paintball party my friend (dj89) let me use his xmag sence it was my bday , I LOVED it, I could go with out one. So I saved up my money and got a emag. I feel that it is the best marker I ever owned or will own. It is so fast and so sleek. All of my happyness was from you.
Tom Kaye , you are one of the coolest people I know , even though I have neve had the opertunity to meet you in person.

Dear Tom ,
You have created many MAGnificent paintball markers over the years. You have brought out some of the best markers in our lifetime and we thank you for that. We are sad to see you move on , but also happy for you and hope you enjoy what ever you deside to do from here on out. Tom , we will always miss you and when we are playing paintball with our automags we will think of only one name.....Tom Kaye

I'm very sad to see you go. You were the whole reason I stayed and continued on with making my grips. The first grips I made were on here for your markers. Since that time I have found a place to call home.

I hope you keep the grips and the artwork I have made for you as I will hold dearly my Tac and soon my Emag.

I'm glad that I kept that original drawing of you that we used for the posters. I have it hanging up on my wall and I look at it everyday as I am making grips for customers that are both yours and mine alike.

You have been an inspiration for me and your ideas and visions are something that I will cherish for the rest of my life. So even though you say you will be invisable, your not in my world.

I am very saddened with your leaving, Mr Kaye. You are a giant among boys in the paintball world. Best of luck in the future. Please stick around and keep us all informed as to what's going on. Thanks a million!!!